An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 eBook

Zeal for founding religious houses was one of the
characteristics of the age. Even the men who
spent their lives in desolating the sanctuaries erected
by others, and in butchering their fellow-creatures,
appear to have had some thought of a future retribution—­some
idea that crime demanded atonement—­with
a lively faith in a future state, where a stern account
would be demanded. If we contented ourselves with
merely following the sanguinary careers of kings and
chieftains, we should have as little idea of the real
condition of the country, as we should obtain of the
present social state of England by an exclusive study
of the police reports in the Times. Perhaps,
there was not much more crime committed then than
now. Certainly there were atonements made for
offending against God and man, which we do not hear
of at the present day. Even a cursory glance
through the driest annals, will show that it was not
all evil—­that there was something besides
crime and misery. On almost every page we find
some incident which tells us that faith was not extinct.
In the Annals of the Four Masters, the obituaries of
good men are invariably placed before the records
of the evil deeds of warriors or princes. Perhaps
writers may have thought that such names would be
recorded in another Book with a similar precedence.
The feats of arms, the raids, and destructions occupy
the largest space. Such deeds come most prominently
before the eyes of the world, and therefore we are
inclined to suppose that they were the most important.
But though the Annals may devote pages to the exploits
of De Lacy or De Burgo, and only say of Ainmie O’Coffey,
Abbot of the Church of Derry-Columcille, that he was
“a noble ecclesiastic, distinguished for his
piety, meekness, charity, wisdom, and every other
virtue;” or of MacGilluire, Coarb of St. Patrick,
and Primate of Ireland, that “he died at Rome,
after a well-spent life,"[328]—­how much
is enfolded in the brief obituary! How many,
of whom men never have heard in this world, were influenced,
advised, and counselled by the meek and noble ecclesiastic!

The influence of good men is like the circle we make
when we cast a little stone into a great stream, and
which extends wider and wider until it reaches the
opposite bank. It is a noiseless influence, but
not the less effective. It is a hidden influence,
but not the less efficacious. The Coarb of St.
Patrick, in his “well-spent life,” may
have influenced for good as many hundreds, as the bad
example of some profligate adventurer influenced for
evil; but we are quite sure to hear a great deal about
the exploits of the latter, and equally certain that
the good deeds of the former will not be so carefully
chronicled.